BrianTrottier

Because we all know that the media's framing of events is always reflective of reality. Edited to add: And yes, the poster has consistently implied that Mauer is only squatting 55 pounds without any additional leg work.

Is there anything to verify that Mauer actually doesn't squat more than 55 lbs, or are you latching onto a picture you posted and concluding that he doesn't? Because it is possible that that was one of many leg workouts in his strength program. It's also possible to gain strength without loading the bar depending on the exercise (personal note: I was very skeptical of an offseason training regiment for hockey one year where we didn't do a single squat and would do a lot of jumps holding a 45 lb barbell and other explosive movements. When I squatted at the end of the summer I could actually do about 75 or 80 lbs more than I could before the program three months before, which is a larger gain than I ever had doing squats over a similar same time span). And the thing about not swinging before February was stated last year. It's probably the approach he'd taken his entire career to that point, and maybe it came back to bit him last year. But even if he did start swinging in January or December, who knows if that would've resulted in a better stat line? That's completely speculative. But I do agree, he should've spoken up if he was having symptoms. However, it could be the case that he might not have recognized he was having issues in the moment, but realized it after his vision cleared up. Maybe he was staying tight lipped hoping the blurriness would go away. We're not Joe and we don't know what he was thinking orwhat his motivations to stay quiet were. Again, though, I agree that he should've spoken up. But to so confidently draw sweeping conclusions about Mauer's work ethic over a picture and a quote comes off as petty.

Here's the actual quote from Reusse: "The Twins aren’t going admit it, but it’s my belief the No. 1 reason they want Sano in the field is his weight. He weighs between 265 and 270 pounds, and I think the Twins fear he could get heavier if he’s not playing in the field." Maybe Reusse is right, but it is just speculation as far as we know.

That's a bit of a disingenuous statement. The disproportionate growth in Mauer's K rate is because his started so low. He was still beneath the league average last year.

I didn't hear the interview or anything, but this sounds to me like it's probably your interpretation of what he said and perhaps not what was actually said.

It's still only December.

Those rare exceptions don't outweigh the vast majority of cases that actually don't matter one bit.

I think he came in third because of how badly the Twins were projected to do.

That's because it would make a GM look pretty bad to go back on all of those moves that he assured everyone would result in a contender. He dug himself into a hole.

And equally an argument for putting Sano in the outfield (which I oppose).

Right.

Because Arcia hit .199 at AAA. .199. That's under .200. Against less than major league pitching. That doesn't exactly scream "call me up."

I didn't miss that part. I mentioned that people think they should have held on to him, and acknowledged that it's a fair enough viewpoint. But you also have to at least acknowledge that Hicks may never be more valuable to another team than he was now. He very likely won't ever be a 20/20 guy, or win a gold glove, and may not ever become a full-time starter. If that turns out to be true, then it seems to me that a young catcher who may start is a pretty good return for him. To me it's completely unwarranted to chastise Terry Ryan over "settling for mediocrity" when the guy he traded wasn't even really mediocre. And regarding the Span and Revere trades: May could become a fixture in the rotation for years to come, or a shut down reliever, and the Phillies wound up flipping Revere for prospects. If those prospects flame out like most others, which the odds say they will, then it seems that the Twins came out on top of that one. Granted, the jury is still out on Meyer. Hopefully he can be salvaged and turned into a solid reliever.

Fine. How about this: My point is that for a team in the Twins' position, there is merit to a patient approach to building your roster. It is probably a better idea for them to see what they have in their young core of players since they could be the nucleus of a World Series contender in a couple of years. Being overly aggressive could actually hurt their long term success. While they could go out and "make an impact" like the Padres did before last season, a team in the Twins' position will likely benefit from such aggressive moves much less than teams like the Royals, Mets, and Blue Jays, who were already better positioned to compete for a World Seried title going into the 2015 (and 2016) season(s). I'm also waiting for an anwer to a question I asked earlier (to the general crowd, not you in particular) about who'd be a reasonable acquisition for Hicks if not Murphy. Nothing but crickets from the crowd who has expressed strong reaction to this trade. It's hard to take arguments (if that's what you want to call them) against this trade seriously when nobody offers any ideas as to what would have been a fair trade. Saying they should have kept Hicks is fine, but they didn't. They traded him. Since they traded him, who should they have gotten in return?

It's not debatable that their moves at the deadline helped. Trading for Cespedes made the Mets better, and picking up Zobrist and Cueto made the Royals better. But we can't conclude that those moves alone were what pushed them over the edge. We don't have an alternate reality where they did nothing at the deadline to compare to.

You can provide examples of GMs making waves and it working out, and you can provide examples of times when it backfires miserably. My point about A.J. Preller was that no, it's not always better to be hyperagressive rather than being patient (which is how I view the Twins' current approach--patient, not timid). They went all in before last year and are now worse off because of it due to gaping holes on their big league club a depleted farm system, which is a direct result of Preller's decisions. In the case of the Royals, who were already very well positioned to start the year, it worked out.

One of them won the world series, and two of them did not.

Generally speaking on GM's "going big," let's ask A.J. Preller how that worked for the Padres this year.

After OPSing .631 in 2014 (77 OPS+), .679 in 2013 (94 OPS+), and .464 in 2012 (32 OPS+), though admittedly with some success in 2011 when he put up an OPS of .824. But given his recent past, his 2015 numbers appear to be a product of playing in Colorado than any standout ability as a catcher to hit.

If not a catcher with legitimate starter potential, what would have been a fair return for Hicks?

Santana's 2015 line in 277 PAs: .215/.241/.291; .532 OPS, 44 OPS+, 11.3 K/BB, -2.2 bWAR Nunez's 2015 line in 204 PAs: .282/.327/.431, .758 OPS, 104OPS +, 2.4 K/BB, 1.5 bWAR Are you sure about that statement? Even if Santana improves to somewhere between his 2014 and 2015 seasons, we'd be pretty lucky for him to come close to Nunez's production from this past season. I know that Nunez put up better numbers in 2015 than he has in any other year, but he's never come close to demonstrating the futility that Danny Santana (who I might add always seems to look frightened when he's playing) did this year. (Edited to add Nunez's OPS+)

This is nothing but petulance and does not contribute to constructive discussion. You're simply airing grievances. Wait for the holidays for that.

Now, I'm not saying this is something that the Twins will do, but I think it's something they should consider. Think about it. He never officially retired, the last season he played he put up an OPS. of 1.045, and with the collusion and perjury obstacles behind him he's free to focus on hitting. Maybe he could fill a void in RF, but I think we should sign him as a DH, move Mauer to catcher so Plouffe can stick at third (he's got value their), and have Sano play 1b since that's where he profiles. Thoughts?

I am astounded that people treat Hicks and Buxton as the same types of players. Buxton >>>>> Hicks.

I honestly think that Berrios is their "ace." Call it blind faith, but I think he'll pan out. I also think that the Twins need to pour their resources into building an elite bullpen. Easier said than done, but recent years have shown that that's how teams win in the playoffs. Get ahead after 5 or 6 and shut the door.